The technical field generally relates to post-drilling injection well clean-up operations, and more particularly but not exclusively relates to injection well clean-up operations in open hole completions where extensive production from the well is not utilized before injection operations begin. Damage examples include fluid loss agents in the drilling fluid deposited on the formation face, other solids from the formation of interest or other formations in the wellbore entrained in the drilling fluid and deposited on the formation face, and/or a filter cake present due to leakoff of the drilling fluid into the formation and subsequent formation of the filter cake. The filter cake can include a binding agent (e.g. starch or polymer residue), solid particles, and/or a buildup of an oil-based filter cake.
Injection wells often benefit from a production period after drilling to enable clean-up of drilling fluids and other potential damage inhibiting injectivity into the formation. In many circumstances a significant production period after drilling is undesirable or impossible. For example, and without limitation, a rig may not have storage facilities for fluids from flowback, the formation may not have sufficient pressure to flow, and/or it may be desirable to begin injection operations more quickly than a clean-up by flowback will accommodate in the circumstances present for the specific well. Therefore, further technological developments are desirable in this area.